Cameron Randolph brings a passion for water to her first coaching job.
"The water was always a magnet to me—I was always attracted to it," Randolph said Wednesday as she prepared to take on her new job as coach of the Wood River Dolphins swim team.
Randolph, a North Carolina native, replaces long-time coach Chris Jafay who recently moved to Washington State.
"I'm actually really stoked to have her," said Trudy Weaver, director of the Blaine County Aquatic Center in Hailey. "She has great credentials to coach this program. We want it to be fun and exciting and I think she's very capable of doing that."
Randolph, a competitive swimmer since the age of six, competed in swimming and triathlon for four years at the University of North Carolina. She later moved to Colorado where she met her husband, Greg, at the Olympics Training Center in Colorado Springs. The couple moved to Hailey a few years ago.
A mother of two, Randolph said her first remembered experience with water was at the age of 3 when she unabashedly jumped into deep water. Fortunately, someone quickly pulled her out, but incident marks the beginning of a life long passion.
"No pun intended, but I dove right in to the swimming world," she said. "It's been a passion for me ever since I was a kid. Some of my fondest memories are of water. It runs very deep for me."
Though she's never coached before, Randolph has been a swimming instructor and a substitute school teacher and will bring those experiences to the job.
She'll be assisted by Cherise Wetzel, a former Dolphins swimmer, assistant team coach and currently a student at Albertson College of Idaho in Caldwell.
"I'm so lucky to have her—she'll be invaluable to me," Randolph said.
She will need the help. The swim team program is expected to draw some 120-150 kids. Preseason practice starts Monday, May 22 and the regular season kicks off June 5 and runs until the end of July.
"Hopefully we'll win some races and some meets," Randolph said. "But it's not all about winning. It's about learning to compete and learning good sportsmanship. Hopefully the kids will take something away from this that they'll use for the rest of their lives."
New Wood River Dolphins swim team coach Cameron Randolph instructs junior high school students at the Blaine County Aquatic Center. Strapped to her back is 3-year-old daughter Lola. Photo by David N. Seelig
